Drug Enforcement Administration

Corpus Man Sent to Prison for Dealing Drugs, Possessing Firearm

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 39-year-old Corpus Christi resident has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. A federal jury convicted Juan Dedios Delagarza Aug. 14, 2018, following two days of trial and less than two hours of deliberation.

Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, who presided over the trial, handed Delagarza a 96-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

During trial, jurors heard testimony that authorities executed a search warrant in the early morning hours of Sept. 28, 2013, at Delagarza’s Corpus Christi residence. He was there along with his five juvenile children and their mothers, among others.

Officers searched the residence and found more than 10 grams of methamphetamine, as well as numerous drug ledgers, scales, baggies, pipes and other drug paraphernalia. Also found was a loaded, stolen firearm and other ammunition. Officers and agents provided testimony about Delagarza’s prior felony conviction, the origin of the firearm and ammunition and the analysis of the narcotics recovered.

The jury also heard that Delagarza had previously admitted he knew of the methamphetamine.

He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Texas Department of Public Safety; Nueces County Sheriff’s Office; and Corpus Christi Police Department all assisted in the joint investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hess is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.